The Philadelphia Phillies need to have a big offseason if they want to get over the hump and take down the Los Angeles Dodgers. But they’re set to lose a handful of stars this offseason.
Ranger Suárez, Kyle Schwarber, and JT Realmuto are all free agents right now. Schwarber and Realmuto are seemingly top priorities for the Philadelphia front office. It appears the Phillies won’t make much of an effort to retain Suárez because of their loaded pitching depth.
Jim Bowden of The Athletic recently predicted Suárez would sign a blockbuster six-year, $164 million deal with the Baltimore Orioles.
“The Orioles learned the hard way in 2025 what happens when you neglect the pitching market in the offseason,” Bowden wrote. “They can’t waste the primes of players like Gunnar Henderson and Jackson Holliday by failing to build a strong rotation.”
The Orioles neglected their pitching staff last offseason, and it came back to bite them. They whiffed on the postseason despite a talented young core because their pitching staff couldn’t keep up over 162 games.
Signing Suárez would be a big move, but the Orioles can afford it right now. Their core hasn’t hit free agency and demanded massive contract extensions, so the Orioles still have some financial flexibility.
It would be a bit of an out-of-character move for Baltimore, but it’s the kind of signing that would help them close the gap in the loaded American League East.
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